Drawing Animals on Colored Paper

Exploring Emotion, Color, and Form Through Nature

Lesson Summary

In this project, we’ll draw animals on colored paper to explore how color affects mood, energy, and depth. By working on toned backgrounds, we’ll use shadows and highlights to bring our animals to life and create illustrations that feel dynamic and full of emotion.

Learning Goals

Learn how to draw on colored paper using both monochrome and full color
Understand how to express energy and movement through color
Explore how color choices can change the emotion or temperature of an image

Let’s Reflect Together

Let’s take a few minutes to think and share:

What animal would you like to draw, and why? What draws you to this animal, and what does it represent to you?
What kind of energy or emotion do you feel from the animal you chose?
If your animal had a spirit color, what would it be—and why?
What’s the most interesting animal you’ve ever seen in person, whether at a zoo or in nature?
What kind of energy or emotion do you sense from animals like a lion, hippo, wolf, or bear?
What color of paper do you think would best suit each of these animals—a lion, tiger, or elephant?
How do you think the color of your paper will affect the overall mood or feeling of your drawing? For example, how would yellow feel? What about navy blue or green?
In what ways can color act like emotion—changing how we see and feel about what’s in front of us?

Materials

Colored or toned drawing paper
Pencils and erasers
Colored pencils, gouache paint, or markers
Opaque white paint (optional, for highlights)
Reference photo of your chosen animal

Step-by-Step Process

Choose Your Animal (Black and White Drawing Reference)
Pick an animal that you feel connected to—one that inspires you or makes you curious.
Choose a Paper Color
Choose a colored paper that complements or matches the animal’s natural color. For example:
- Grey paper for elephants
- Green for crocodiles
- Brown for owls
  The background color will become part of your artwork’s mood.
Light Sketch
Lightly sketch the shape of your animal with a pencil. Focus on the posture, the rhythm, and the personality of the creature.
Outline
Carefully define the outlines using pencil, pen, or a fine marker. Once your drawing feels right, everything else builds around it.
Add Shadows
Use cool, dark colors to build your shadows. Think about where the light is coming from. Shade in the direction that helps your animal feel grounded and real.
Add Highlights
Now add warm, light tones to show where the light hits. This creates contrast and depth. Your animal will begin to stand out from the paper.
Final Touches
Use opaque white paint or pencil to bring out the brightest highlights—like the sparkle in an eye, the tip of a nose, or light on fur. This makes your artwork pop off the page.
Photo Animal Reference
Next use a photo reference of an animal. Select the color paper that best suits your reference photo and draw it following a similar process.

Student Work: Animals on Colored Paper

Celebrate the color, contrast, and character in each drawing. Notice how different animals come alive in different moods, just by shifting the colors.

Color Vocabulary

Primary Colors: Red, blue, and yellow—the base colors used to make all others
Secondary Colors: Orange, green, and purple—created by mixing primary colors
Warm Colors: Colors like red, orange, and yellow that feel energetic and warm
Cool Colors: Colors like blue, green, and purple that feel calm or cold
Opaque: A color or material you can’t see through—used for bold highlights

Closing Thought

Every animal has its own energy—just like each of us. When we choose colors with intention and draw with care, we begin to understand not only what we’re seeing, but also what we’re feeling. Let your animal reflect both the outer world and your inner one.

Animals on Colored Paper

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